Feeding Daily vs. Not Feeding Daily

[elizabeth1982]

Alright, here is a question for y'all. How often do you feed your fish?

I work in a pet store and we sell fish. Almost every fish food container we sell tells our customers to feed at least once daily if not multiple times daily. To me, that is way, way, way too much. I feed my fish every 2 to 3 days. They are happy, healthy, alive, and I find there is less waste and excess food. I share this with some of my customers, letting them know it's just how I run my tank, but there is so much conflicting information out there about feeding that I never know if I am telling them right.

{Tangent} I mostly stick with frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms but I occasionally change it up and throw in some pellets or flakes instead. Between rotating between the two frozen foods, pellets and flakes, and feeding only every 2 to 3 days I think I am doing my fish good. {/Tangent}

Especially when I do water tests for customers that have high levels of ammonia and nitrates, and barely have any fish in their tank, I find that after asking some questions it comes down to overfeeding. They overfeed, have excess waste and food building and rotting, and aren't gravel vaccing to get it up and out. So, those customers especially I tell that I think feeding daily+ is too much.

Am I wrong?

[dennysfishroom]

Obviously fish can go more than a day without food with no negative effect. The problems you mention with overfeeding most likely are a result of feeding more often, but not reducing the amount that's fed at any one time. If you're keeping fish for display, feeding less often is not a problem. If your interest is in breeding, generally speaking they will get in breeding condition quicker if they are fed more often, but the amount fed is less. As with most issues concerning aquariums, there usually is no one correct way to handle a particular situation. Whatever works for you can be correct to you, but may or may not be correct for everyone else. Denny

[slimbolen99]

I can't speak to a pet store situation, but here's what I do.

The day before a water change, I'll feed pretty heavily. On days I don't do water changes, I'll just feed to make sure the bottom feeders (cories, plecos) get a little something to forage after, but not much at all. I probably feed 2x a week in a fair amount, and another 2x a week very lightly.

When I go on vacation, even if it's for over a week, I don't feed at all. In decorated aquaria like I have, there is plenty for the fish to forage on.

[sumpnfishy]

I feed either once or twice a day, more often for fry or conditioning breeders. If I'm going on vacation for up to ten days I don't worry about them being fed. I would agree with Denny that the overfeeding isn't from being fed too often. Feed what they will eat in a 5 minute period. This of course requires observing their fish which a lot of people do not really do.
Michael

[elizabeth1982]

Interesting feedback, y'all. Thanks! Y'all have given me some food for thought.

[mewickham]

Sorry for the late reply. I just got back from vacation. I recommend feeding twice per day, only what the fish can clean up within three minutes. For fry, I feed every time I think of it-- even hourly-- but just enough to keep their stomach's full. They grow much faster that way.

It is better to feed fish light feedings frequently than heavy feedings less frequently. And it depends on the fish. There are some fish, like the saltwater Anthias, that need several feedings per day, or they will generally not survive long in the aquarium. Predatory fish can handle larger meals, less frequently.

I put electronic feeders on my aquarium when I go on vacation. They do not feed as much as I would feed, if feeding by hand. When I come home, I can definitely tell that some fish have lost weight due to the less frequent feedings.

So my recommendation is to feed your fish more often!